Tri-Force dreams revived as Mario Kart: Arcade GP rocks AOU First images!
Misguided, beautiful, awe-inspiring. Nintendo/Namco co-work revealed
Nintendo and Namco have jointly shown a coin-op rework of the seminal Mario Kart series, carrying the name Mario Kart: Arcade GP. Revealed at the AOU show in Tokyo, the game is the star attraction, with attendees forming the biggest lines in the convention to catch a glimpse and take part.
The game runs on the GameCube-based Tri-Force arcade board, as co-engineered by Sega, Namco and Nintendo and features a NamCam 2 camera in a Daytona-esque throwback, as featured in Namco’s Race On some years ago.
The units displayed at the AOU were four-player linked affairs, with Namco (seemingly the chief developer) claiming that the code was a shade over half finished. It was mentioned by Namco reps that the game may be able to support eight players upon release though the official line is currently four.
An interesting side note sees Pac Man take charge of a kart in the latest sharing of character love between two big name Japanese games firms.
A slow player catch-up mechanic is in operation, but may be switchable in time of release. Described as ‘Namco Rubber Band System’, rather than simply speeding up slower players, they receive a constant boost of speed depending how far they fall behind in the race compared against all others involved at the time.
A card system has also been assured for inclusion, which will hold race data, kart modifications, items (of which there will be hundreds we are told) and battle data. Impressively, 24 courses in 6 worlds will be available, making Arcade GP the biggest Mario Kart outing of all time.
We’ll bring you more details soon and in the meantime, have a look at these images courtesy of Impress Game Watch.
The game runs on the GameCube-based Tri-Force arcade board, as co-engineered by Sega, Namco and Nintendo and features a NamCam 2 camera in a Daytona-esque throwback, as featured in Namco’s Race On some years ago.
The units displayed at the AOU were four-player linked affairs, with Namco (seemingly the chief developer) claiming that the code was a shade over half finished. It was mentioned by Namco reps that the game may be able to support eight players upon release though the official line is currently four.
An interesting side note sees Pac Man take charge of a kart in the latest sharing of character love between two big name Japanese games firms.
A slow player catch-up mechanic is in operation, but may be switchable in time of release. Described as ‘Namco Rubber Band System’, rather than simply speeding up slower players, they receive a constant boost of speed depending how far they fall behind in the race compared against all others involved at the time.
A card system has also been assured for inclusion, which will hold race data, kart modifications, items (of which there will be hundreds we are told) and battle data. Impressively, 24 courses in 6 worlds will be available, making Arcade GP the biggest Mario Kart outing of all time.
We’ll bring you more details soon and in the meantime, have a look at these images courtesy of Impress Game Watch.
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Comments
NiktheGreek 19 Feb 2005 23:38
1/6
Hmm. To be honest, with Sega's expertise in arcade racing games (recent ones including Outrun 2), as well the sterling handling of F-Zero GX/AX, I'd have asked them to do it. This being said, from what I gather F-Zero AX didn't do at all well financially, could that be a cause?
So far, so Mario Kart. At another board I visit, everyone's being blown away by this. I just can't see it myself. As far as I can see, it's just another Mario Kart game, not substantially prettier than Double Dash before it, with Pac-Man in. Oh, and it's an arcade game. Yes, it's got kart-modding and a hell of a lot of courses, but truth be told I'm not really as excited as perhaps I should be. I think I may be burned out on this series.
Of course, fans will have to hope we even see this over here, officially or otherwise - ever tried finding an F-Zero AX machine in the UK?
So far, so Mario Kart. At another board I visit, everyone's being blown away by this. I just can't see it myself. As far as I can see, it's just another Mario Kart game, not substantially prettier than Double Dash before it, with Pac-Man in. Oh, and it's an arcade game. Yes, it's got kart-modding and a hell of a lot of courses, but truth be told I'm not really as excited as perhaps I should be. I think I may be burned out on this series.
Of course, fans will have to hope we even see this over here, officially or otherwise - ever tried finding an F-Zero AX machine in the UK?
Pandaman 20 Feb 2005 02:55
2/6
I could never find one of those F-Zero arcade units...I doubt this will be any different.
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Ditto 20 Feb 2005 14:21
3/6
I think this sounds like an excellent idea. Just a pity I don't liver near an arcade and these machines prob won't make it to the UK.
According to the original GX box, there should be AX machines in the UK.
According to the original GX box, there should be AX machines in the UK.
NiktheGreek 20 Feb 2005 14:35
4/6
Adam M wrote:
I think this sounds like an excellent idea. Just a pity I don't liver near an arcade and these machines prob won't make it to the UK.
According to the original GX box, there should be AX machines in the UK.
According to the original GX box, there should be AX machines in the UK.
There are - we know of one, at the Trocadero in London. However, I've been down a whole seafront of arcades and not seen a single F-Zero machine. Did see a few OutRun 2 cabs though, which was good (especially since this visit was the day after I'd bought my Xbox in June).
kid_77 20 Feb 2005 16:15
5/6
We have a Sega World in town ;-)
Haven't been there for a few months so I could be missing out on F-Zero.
Before Outrun 2 came out, I hadn't bothered going to an arcade for a couple of years. They just don't hold any awe for me any more, not now home consoles are just as powerfull, with more involving games.
Haven't been there for a few months so I could be missing out on F-Zero.
Before Outrun 2 came out, I hadn't bothered going to an arcade for a couple of years. They just don't hold any awe for me any more, not now home consoles are just as powerfull, with more involving games.
NiktheGreek 20 Feb 2005 16:50
6/6
kid_77 wrote:
Before Outrun 2 came out, I hadn't bothered going to an arcade for a couple of years. They just don't hold any awe for me any more, not now home consoles are just as powerfull, with more involving games.
See, for me part of the attraction is the large screens, quality steering wheels and such silly things that make it feel worthwhile to me. It's a set-up that I simply don't have at home.
As for the games being more involving, I'm not sure I fully agree with you. Prior to the popularity of IC-card save systems such as VF.net, I definitely would have. However, these seem to be changing the way people play - thanks to these cards, persistent online rankings can be created, a kind of evolution of the high score table. Mario Kart is using this system for customisable vehicles, as well as items. I understand that saving your progress in an arcade game isn't new (even the Neo Geo MVS had this functionality), but it's catching on elsewhere and changing how arcade games are created. They're certainly not going to achieve the same kind of longevity as home titles, but by their very nature there's no need to. I just hope this kind of system could catch on over here.